Motorcycle History: Giacomo Agostini’s World Championship | RideApart Tweet Each week RideApart looks back to highlight key milestones in motorcycling history from innovations to significant model introductions to racing successes and, of course, some of the disastrous things we’d rather forget. This week it’s Italian racing legend Giacomo Agostini's World Championship debut. It’s 50 years ago this year that arguably the world’s greatest Grand Prix motorcycle racer Giacomo Agostini took part in his debut World Championship race on a 250cc Moto Morini in Spain. He failed to score any points that first season but in the years that followed, Ago (as he’s known to his fans) went on to become the most successful rider of all time. Over a 13-year career (from 1963-1977) this Italian rider won 122 Grand Prix in both the 350cc and 500cc categories (even today he is still ahead of Valentino Rossi) plus 15 World Championship motorcycle titles.

Of those he won 68 races and eight titles in the top 500cc class with the remainder in the 350cc class. Agostini began his career as a factory rider for Italian manufacturer Moto Morini and won the national 350cc title in his second year of racing in 1964. Agostini’s performance caught the attention of Count Domenico Agusta – then owner of the MV Agusta factory – who signed Agostini and Englishman Mike Hailwood for the 1965 350cc World Championship. It turned out to be a season-long battle between Agostini and Honda’s Brian Redman with the Italian just missing out on the title in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka when his Agusta developed a mechanical problem. The following season, in 1965, Hailwood left the Agusta team for Honda, leaving Agostini as the top rider for the Agusta factory and racing in both 500cc and 350cc World Championships. It was that 1966 season where Agostini started to dominate motorcycle racing.

He went on to win seven consecutive 500cc Grand Prix titles (1967-1972) and seven 350cc titles (1968-1974). In those years the Isle of Man featured as a round of both World Championships and Agostini won both classes of the TT 10 times. In 1972, he announced he would never race at the Isle of Man again as his close friend and fellow Italian rider Gilberto Parlotti had been killed that year and Agostini felt the circuit had become far too dangerous for Grand Prix racing. In 1974, Agostini made the surprise move from Agusta to Yamaha winning the Daytona 200 in the 500cc class but was hampered by technical problems. He did though continue to win on a Yamaha in the 350cc category taking the world title that year. For 1975 he won the 500cc Grand Prix title for Yamaha, which marked the first time ever that a two-stroke motorcycle won the top World Championship class.

His penultimate season in 1976 saw Agostini riding both Yamaha and Agusta bikes in the 500cc championship (try doing that today) but with limited success. He retired at the end of the 1977 season finishing sixth in the 500cc World Championship standings as well as competing in 750cc endurance races for Yamaha. After retiring he tried his hand at car racing running his own team and competing in a national Formula One Championship. Agostini returned to bike racing in 1982 running the Yamaha Grand Prix team and oversaw the careers of Eddie Lawson and Kenny Roberts. In the early 1990’s he even ran the Cagiva works motorcycle team. Agostini still works as an ambassador for Yamaha but no longer competes. Today Giacomo Agostini’s astonishing record of 186 starts, 122 wins, 159 podiums, 9 pole positions and 117 fastest laps has yet to be beaten.

Related Links: Exhibition in Lovere commemorates career of motorcycle world champion Giacomo Agostini |Best of Bergamo Exhibition in Lovere commemorates career of motorcycle world champion Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini in action on his MV Agusta The lakeside town of Lovere is always worth visiting and currently there is an extra attraction for fans of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in the shape of an exhibition recalling the record-breaking career of the Italian rider Giacomo Agostini. Agostini, the 15 times world motorcycling champion who celebrated his 74th birthday earlier this week, was born in Brescia but his family moved to Lovere when he was 13. It is 50 years since he won the world title for the first time in 1966 and the anniversary is being marked with a month-long exhibition at Lovere's Accademia Tadini, which overlooks the picturesque Lago d'Iseo.

Riding for the Italian MV Agusta team, Agostini won the 500cc class seven times in a row from 1966 to 1972 and the 350cc class seven times in succession from 1968 to 1974, adding a further 500cc title on a Yamaha in 1975. His total of 122 Grand Prix wins from 1965 to 1976 is the highest by any rider in the history of the sport, although his fellow Italian, 37-year-old Valentino Rossi, is now only eight behind on 114. Agostini, who retired at 35, was unbeaten in 350cc and 500cc races for three seasons between 1968 and 1970, equalling the record held by his great rival Mike Hailwood of Great Britain for most wins in a season when his recorded 19 first places in the 1970 campaign. Agostini also won 10 races at the Isle of Man TT, the most by any non-British rider.

It might have been more but he decided to quit TT racing in 1972 after his close friend, Gilberto Parlotti, was killed during the event. Giacomo Agostini He is also the only Italian to win the prestigious Daytona 200 race in America. He had a season driving Formula One cars for Williams in 1980 but then switched to management, where he enjoyed more success, winning three 500cc world titles with the Californian rider Eddie Lawson of Marlboro Yamaha. Agostini also managed for Cagiva and Honda before retiring in 1995. The eldest of four brothers, Giacomo Agostini was only 11 when he rode a moped for the first time and knew immediately he wanted to race motorcycles. His father Aurelio, who was a local government employee in Lovere, wanted him to become an accountant but allowed him to pursue his dream after seeking advice from a lawyer who was a family friend. The lawyer told him he thought sport would be good for Giacomo's character and only later did Aurelio find out that his friend had misunderstood him and believed Giacomo wanted to take up cycling.

His mother, Maria Vittoria, ensured that when he raced he always carried in his helmet a medal showing the image of Pope John XXIII, who hailed from Sotto il Monte, a small village which, like Lovere, is in Bergamo province. The exhibition at the Tadini Academy, which runs until July 3, is called Giacomo Agostini: The Golden Age. Sponsored by a local furnace manufacturer, Forni Industriali Bendotti, as part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition includes many mementoes of his career, including the suits and helmets he wore in his first and last races. Visitors can also admire - in Lovere's Piazza XIII Martiri - an artwork featuring one of Agostini's bikes by the Milan architect Mauro Piantelli entitled "Of the Brave and his Steed". Lovere, the largest town on the western shore of Lago d’Iseo, has wonderful views of the top of the lake with its dramatic backdrop of mountains.

Lovere's impressive Palazzo Tadini The Accademia Tadini is based at the classical Palazzo Tadini, which looks out over the lake from Via Tadini and is one of the most important art galleries in Italy. The church of Santa Maria in Valvendra has some sixteenth century frescoes and the church of San Giorgio, which is built into a medieval tower, contains an important work by Palma il Giovane. Lovere is about an hour's drive from Bergamo along the SS42 highway and there is also a bus service from Bergamo. You can take a boat from Lovere over to Pisogne on the eastern shore of the lake. The landing stage adjoins Piazza XIII Martiri. Italy sports. Achievements, Italy international football, sport in Italy Italy sports International football and more achievements If you asked people in an opinion poll in the UK what they think Italian achievements and successes in sport are, very likely they would immediately think of football, perhaps motor racing and cycling, but not much else. If you asked people in an opinion poll in the UK to name the top 10 countries with most Olympic medals victories, they probably would not include Italy among them.

And yet, Italy has regularly been among the countries that have won the highest number of medals in the Olympic Games. In football, Italy is a giant, with one of the best records of achievements in the world. On 14 February 2007 FIFA, the international football governing body, ranked Italy first in the FIFA World Rankings, with 1488 points, 37 points more than Argentina, 2nd ranked. This moved Italy up one from their previous rank, second. Italian football players of outstanding value throughout the history of the game have been so many that they could fill a book. Italy is the current World champion. It has won the World Cup 4 times, in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006, an impressive record only bettered by Brazil with one more victory, 5. Italy's coach Vittorio Pozzo is the only man to ever coach a team to two World Cup victories, in 1934 and 1938. In addition, Italy won one European championship in 1968, two Central European International Cups and one Olympic Gold Medal in 1936.

But that's not enough: Italy has been in the final of many more World Cups and European Cups. In 1994, in the USA, the World Cup final was between Italy and Brazil. Both countries had won the title a record 3 times. Whoever won that historic final would become the first national football team ever to conquer the title for the 4th time. The result score at the end of the match was still 0-0, and it remained that after the extra time was played. The result was then decided by a penalty shoot-out. Italy lost but, as everybody knows, penalty shoot-outs are much more a matter of luck than skills. It could easily have been Italy to win 4 World Cups for the first time in the history of football. In France 1998, Italy lost to the national that was to become champions, France. Again, the match was decided after the regular time was over. In 2000, the European Championship final was between Italy and France. Decided by penalty shoot-out once again. We lost.

The 2008 European championship has seen the Azzurri's opening matches not particularly brilliant, but also marred by wrong referee decisions, all against Italy. In the first game, Holland-Italy, the opening goal by the Dutch was a clear and obvious offside, with about one metre between the Dutch goal-scorer and the closest Italian player behind him. The goal should have been disallowed but was instead conceded by the referee. The Dutch players themselves could not believe it, there was utter suprprise on their faces. The UEFA, the European football governing body, was so concerned about this poor referee decision that it issued a statement to defend it soon after the match, even though these statements are usually made only if there is a complaint from the offended team, and in this case Italy had not made a complaint. The UEFA's defense of the referee's decision is as poor as the decision itself. It claims that the goal was not offside, given that, when Van Nistelrooy scored for the Dutch, the Italian defender, Panucci, although out of the field due to injury, was still in play because he had left the field without asking for the referee's permission to do so.

This is a reference to a guidelines code with advice to referees published by FIFA. What is absurd about this line of defense is that a rule that allegedly penalizes a player and his team for being injured seems to go against common sense and reason. Panucci clearly could not ask for the referees's permission to leave the field if he was in acute pain. But this was not, obviously, the reason behind this rule and the referee's decision goes against the spirit of the rule. The rule is there to prevent a defender from leaving the field just to avoid a goal by creating an offside, i.e. to prevent him from cheating. If this happens, the referee has not only to allow the goal as onside but also to punish the defender by showing him the yellow card. The referee did not yellow card Panucci because he knew that the Italian was really injured and not cheating, but that very decision also demostrates that the goal was offside and was to be disallowed. That first goal, stolen and not regularly scored, changed the game completely. The Dutch then scored two more goals but the match until that crucial moment of the bad referee's decision had been entirely different. The Dutch were charged up and we got demoralized.

True, a great team must pick themselves up and carry on, even if their opponents are 14 and not 11. But the fact remains that Italy that night played against 14: Holland plus the trio of referee and linesmen. It's also true that these things always happen in football. But what makes wrong referee decisions more acceptable is that, according to the theory of probability, they should sometimes go against you and sometimes go in your favour: statistically, if all is fair there should be a percentage of 50/50 of referee decisions for and against the same team. Not so for Italy. In their second match of the tournament, against Romania, Italy scored a goal that was perfecly regular and was disallowed for offside. And later on in the game the referee awarded an extremnely dubious penalty to Romania, superbly saved by our Buffon. In football, where even one single goal can make all the difference in outcome, referees decisions which direcly affect the result, like offside decisions, are crucial in determining who wins and who loses, as opposed to decisions only indirectly affecting the result, such as sending off players.

Only a match between Italy and, say, Saudi Arabia, or a game between professional and amateur footballers, would not be affected in its result by constant and consistent wrong referee decisions against one team only. I am sure that, if Brazil had had bad referee decisions against them on a regular basis, they would not have won five world cups. In yachting, Italy reached the final of the America's Cup in Auckland in 2000 with the yacht Luna Rossa by beating the American favourite in the semifinal, and went to race against the title holder New Zealand which beat them in the final. Italy had already been in the final of this most prestigious trophy in international yachting competition in 1992 with Il Moro di Venezia. It was defeated by the favourite America3. In recent years, the Italian yacht Luna Rossa placed third or fourth in the America's Cup. In motorcycling, Italy's Valentino Rossi is the undisputed champion of the world, having won seven world titles in the MotoGP world championship.

Other Italians are top international motorcycling aces, like Loris Capirossi now and, in the past, Giacomo Agostini, who won seven times from 1966 to 1972. Italy is relatively new to rugby, a sport which has still little following in the country. Yet, the country's team is in the Six Nations tournament, and has beaten long-established national teams like Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Giacomo Agostini | MotoVue Leave a reply With Christmas 2016 upon us here are two books which any motorcycle racing enthusiast would like to find under the Christmas tree. They say a picture paints a thousand words and these two photo-autobiographies “GIACOMO AGOSTINI A LIFE IN PICTURES” and “JOHN SURTEES MY INCREDIBLE LIFE ON TWO WHEELS AND FOUR” certainly do that. Both are primarily photographic accounts of the lives of these two motor racing giants, beautifully presented on high quality glossy paper as hardback coffee table size publications.

Agostini’s book is co-authored by Italian Mario Donnino , a long serving reporter for well known motorsport magazine Autosprint, Donino’s almost poetic narrative is combined with quotes provided by Agostini that reveal his highly competitive nature and a search for perfection in his racing. This is hardly surprising for a man who has won eight 500cc (MotoGp) and seven 350cc World Championships accumulating along the way 122 Grand Prix victories. It is the photographs however, most of which are from Agostini’s own collection, that enrich this book so much, allowing the reader to look back in time to the late 1950’s and mid 1970”s, to an era considered to be “Golden” in the sport of Grand Prix motorcycle racing and sometimes also deadly to its participants. The photographs, such as the MV Agusta mechanics working in the factory workshop, and those of Giacomo socialising with his racing rivals are priceless. Highly recommended. John Surtees’ book is co-authored by well known journalist Mike Nicks who has contributed to specialist magazines such as MCN, Classic Bike among many others.

The format is very similar to Agostini’s tome with the photographs accompanied by Surtee’s own description that gives an intimate voice to the book. Surtees of course is the only man to ever win both the 500cc (MotoGp) World Championship (four times) and the F1 World Championship with Ferrari in 1964. Surtees also won the inaugural CAN-AM series in 1966 and later became an F1 car constructor in 1970 with his cars winning the European Formula 2 title with Mike Hailwood in 1972. But these are just headlines of a long and enduring career and this book reveals so much more. Highly recommended. Royalties from “JOHN SURTEES MY INCREDIBLE LIFE ON TWO WHEELS AND FOUR” go to the Henry Surtees Foundation which was set up to honour the memory of John’s son Henry, who was killed in a freak accident at Brands Hatch in 2009. The above books are available from the Book Depository.

Review by Geoff Dawes (C) 2016 Leave a reply Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez pose with the 1966 Honda RC181 and the 2016 RC213V at Motegi in Japan. It was perhaps fitting that Marc Marquez collected his third MotoGp World Championship at Honda’s own circuit at Motegi in Japan, as 2016 celebrates 50 years since Honda first entered the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. What is also appropriate is the fact that Marquez achieved this on the recalcitrant 2016 RC213V. Although an improvement over the 2015 edition, a change to the new Michelin control tyres as well as the new control software, tossed in even more variables for the Repsol Honda team to equate. But the key this year to Marquez’s success has been his determination to finish every race and has shown the kind of maturity, at just 23 years of age, that no doubt is worrying to his rivals.

Honda’s first foray into the 500cc (MotoGp) class with the RC181, coincidentally suffered handling issues as well. Honda’s weapon of choice to enter the 500cc war. Honda of course were the first Japanese motorcycle manufacturer to enter into the Grands Prix in 1959 at the Isle of Man TT in the 125cc category. After considerable success in the lower capacity classes Honda then took the plunge by entering a 500cc machine in the premier class for 1966. Although rumours in the paddock suggested that like the multi-cylinder four-strokes Honda had produced in the smaller capacity classes, the 500cc machine could potentially have a six-cylinder or even a V-8 power plant. However it was a more conventional transverse air-cooled four-cylinder engine, with twin overhead camshafts and four-valves per cylinder, that fronted the grid. The RC181 boasted a very competitive 85hp at 12,000rpm and weighed in at 154kg using the engine as a stressed member.

It was entrusted to Rhodesian, Jim Redman, Honda’s six times world champion (two 250cc and four 350cc class titles) to take on the might of MV Agusta and the talents of its rising star Giacomo Agostini . Honda used the engine as a stressed member for the chassis of the RC181. Redman took the RC181 to a stunning victory on debut at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and followed that up with a win at the next round in Holland at the Dutch TT. Honda had also enticed its former 250cc World Champion, Mike Hailwood, back to the fold, and although his priority was to be the 250cc and 350cc categories, Hailwood rode the new machine for the first time in Holland and was leading the race when a false neutral caused him to crash. Nonetheless it appeared MV Agusta’s monopoly on the class was about to end. The RC181 though flattered to deceive and Redman crashed in atrocious conditions during the next round at Spa in Belgium. He badly broke his arm and promptly retired from racing, leaving Hailwood to try and retrieve the championship challenge.

Although Hailwood notched up three wins in Czechoslovakia, Ulster and the Isle of Man and a second place in Finland, mechanical problems at the other four rounds handed the riders title to Agostini and the new three cylinder MV Agusta. Honda was left with the consolation of winning the manufacturers trophy with a motorcycle that Hailwood could only describe the handling as, “Bloody awful!” Hailwood’s Honda wore the number 1 plate in 1966 after winning the 500cc crown for MV Agusta in 1965. Both Honda and Hailwood returned for the 1967 season with an updated RC181. The off-season saw the Honda now developing a healthy 93bhp at 12,650rpm with its weight reduced 13kg to 141kg with the extensive use of magnesium in the engine. Mike had flown to Japan during the off-season to test the 1967 machines and was horrified to discover the promised new chassis for the RC181 was non-existent and demanded to take an engine back to England to have a chassis built in Europe that might solve the severe handling problems.

The Japanese though refused to let Hailwood race the new chassis in the Grands Prix, but instead “beefed up” the existing RC181 frame which used the engine as a stressed member. Mike did enter the HRS (Hailwood Racing Special) at some non-championship races and even practiced on it for the first Gran Prix of the season at Hockenheim but reverted to the factory RC181 for the race and was leading when the crankshaft broke handing Agostini the win. Hailwood (left) and “Ago”on the starting grid as they prepare to do battle. The next race was the TT at the Isle Of Man, a race that became one of the all time classics in Grand Prix racing history. During the course of their titanic struggle the lead swapped back and forth for five of the six laps of the 37.5mile course (60.3km) until the chain broke on Agostini’s MV. Hailwood cruised to victory and had set a new outright lap record of 108.77mph (175kph), which stood for almost a decade.

The next weekend Agostini and the improving MV outpaced Hailwood and the Honda at Spa in Belgium, and at the Sachsenring in East Germany, gearbox problems forced Mike to retire with Agostini claiming victory. The Brno circuit in Czechoslovakia was next with Hailwood finishing 17.8 seconds ahead of his nemesis on the MV Agusta triple. But a fall at Imatra in Finland on a soaked track shifted momentum once more to Agostini. The roles were reversed again at the Dundrod circuit in Ulster with ‘Ago” retiring and Hailwood winning. The whole season now pivoted on the penultimate race of the season at the Nations Grand Prix in MV Agusta’s own backyard at Monza in Italy. At last it looked like Honda would achieve their ambition as Hailwood led Agostini by 16 seconds with three laps to go only to have a certain victory stolen from him by a gearbox that became stuck in top gear. Agostini flashed by to win by 13.2 seconds and take the title a second year in a row.

Although Hailwood won again at the final round at Mosport in Canada, beating “Ago” home by a massive 37.7 seconds it was of no avail. Both riders had accumulated five wins apiece but “Ago” took the title due to three second place finishes to Hailwood’s two. There was no consolation prize for Honda either as MV Agusta also took home the manufacturers title. Hailwood chases “Ago” at the Dutch TT in 1967. Honda withdrew from the Grands Prix at the end of the 1967, but this was just a prelude of what was to come. The Japanese company returned to the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in 1979 with the ill-fated NR500 four-stroke racer and won the first of their many rider’s titles in 1983 with Freddie Spencer and the NS500 two-stroke. Those frustrating seasons of 1966 and 1967 for Honda, must now seem a lifetime away. As this is written, the Japanese manufacturer has now accrued a staggering 279 race victories and 39 riders and constructors World Championships.

Words Geoff Dawes © 2016.Images courtesy of Honda and . YouTube Video courtesy of Pathe. Leave a reply Valentino Rossi about to claim pole position at Jerez. The recent return to form by Valentino Rossi since re-joining his former team at Yamaha has been quite extraordinary. After two seasons in the wilderness with Ducati (2012-2013) and a change of crew chief from Jeremy Burgess to fellow Italian Silvan Galbusera, Rossi is back once more to his winning ways. A single win and four third place podiums helped Valentino clinch fourth place in the 2014 MotoGp World Championship, which by anyone’s standards was a great achievement. The momentum continued into the 2015 season with four wins and Rossi finishing off the podium only three times to take second place in the championship by a mere 5 points, in what became a contentious world title win for Jorge Lorenzo. What makes Rossi’s performance even more remarkable is his age. Valentino turned 37 years old earlier this year showing his hunger for victory and love of the sport has not waned.

Yamaha must think so as they have agreed to a two-year extension of Rossi’s contract keeping him with the factory team until 2018. Nonetheless Rossi’s renewed competitiveness has swung the spotlight of public attention once more onto the subject of who is the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.) in the sport of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Giacomo Agostini on his way to winning German GP at the Nurburgring. There are of course the cold facts that statistics tend to present. The great Giacomo Agostini is still the most prolific Grand Prix winner with 122 wins to his credit while Rossi is still chipping away on 114 with the potential to equal or beat this record. Agostini has also won 8 MotoGp (formerly 500cc) world titles to Rossi’s 7 so far. “Ago” has also won 7 350cc world championships giving him a total of 15 world titles to Valentino’s 9 (a 125cc title in 1997 and 250cc title in 1999 with Aprillia).

Agostini has also won 10 Isle of Mann TT’s, the only non-British rider to do so. Rossi though has won world titles in three capacity classes to ‘”Ago’s” two. Detractors of Agostini’s accomplishments like to point out that during his domination of the Grand Prix that he had superior multi-cylinder four-stroke machinery of the MV Agusta factory team at his disposal with mainly outdated British four-stroke singles to contend with. That is to a degree is true but ‘Ago” still had to deal with the likes of Mike Hailwood, Jim Redman and Phil Read as either teammates or factory supported Honda riders along the way as well as the ever improving Japanese two-strokes that were gaining traction in both the 350cc and 500cc class during his career. And indeed it was Agostini in 1974 that won the first MotoGp (500cc) riders title on a four-cylinder two-stroke; a first also for Yamaha and Japan.

Interestingly it was Rossi that won the last two-stroke World Championship and the first for the new 990cc four-strokes with Honda in 2001 and 2002. Both “Ago” and Valentino have similarly won championships in the premier class with two different manufacturers and are part of an elite group of five that has done so in the sixty-seven year history of the championship. The others are Geoff Duke, Eddie Lawson and Casey Stoner. Five times World Champion Geoff Duke on the Gilera. It should also be pointed out that Giacomo’s 122 Grand Prix wins were accrued over thirteen years from 186 starts, while Rossi has been in the Grand Prix for twenty years and accumulated his 114 (as this is written) wins from 341 starts. Another relevant point is the danger factor. Grand Prix motorcycle racing has always been a hazardous sport and even this year the paddock grieved another fatality when Luis Salom suffered a fatal crash in free practice for the Moto2 race in Catalunya. But during Agostini’s career in the 1960’s and early 1970’s fatalities were commonplace and many of the circuits were considered deadly.

Suprisingly “Ago” was quoted as saying that his favourite tracks were the Isle of Man TT, the old Nurburgring, the old Spa, Opitja and the old Brno circuit, the five most deadly tracks in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history. Remember to, that it was during this period that the “pudding basin” helmet was considered standard “safety equipment”. Greatness though is not necessarily statistics but perhaps the perception of the groups of fans who love the sport and have lived through different eras. Take Geoff Duke for example, a six time World Champion (two 350cc and four 500cc titles) during the sports infancy in the 1950’s, notching up a number of firsts. He was the first man to win two titles (350cc and 500cc) in the same season (1951), the first to win 3 consecutive 500cc titles (1953, 1954 and 1955) and also the first to win MotoGp (500c) titles with two different manufacturers (Norton and Gilera). And what of John Surtees?

Surtees won the premier 500cc Grand Prix crown on four occasions (1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960) and the 350cc G.P. title on three occasions (1958, 1959 and 1960) for a total of seven championships on two wheels, before he clinched the Formula One car title at the last race in Mexico in 1964, the only person ever to win the premier class on two wheels and four. Surtees rides his MV Augusta to victory at the Isle of Man. But to many Mike Hailwood remains a true icon of grand prix motorcycle racing. Equal to Rossi with 9 world championships in three different classes (three 250cc, two 350cc and four 500cc) during a nine-year career with 76 wins from 152 starts in the late 1950’s and 1960’s that included 14 Isle of Man TT victories.

Remarkably after an 11-year break from motorcycle racing Hailwood returned to the Island and won the F1 TT in 1978 and the Senior TT in 1979. The list goes on with names like Phil Read. A 7 times world champion in three classes (the 125cc in 1968, the 250cc in 1964, 65, 68 and 1971, and the 500cc 1973 and 1974) he accumulated 52 wins from 152 starts, again during the hazardous days of the 1960’s and 1970’s. But if dominance was the criteria for being a G.O.A.T. then one needs to look no further than Mick Doohan. During a 10-year career between 1989 and 1999, Doohan won 54 500cc Grand Prix and achieved 95 podiums from 137 starts with five consecutive World Championships (equaled only by Rossi).

In 1997 Doohan amassed an amazing 12 wins and 2 second places from 15 races. This has only been surpassed by the youngest rider to win a MotoGP World Championship, Marq Marquez, with 13 wins, but from 18 races, on the way to his second World title in 2014. Add to this the fact that Doohan’s superiority occurred after he had sustained debilitating injuries to his left leg during practice for the Dutch TT at Assen during what should had been a dominant season and a convincing first world title. So indeed the argument for the greatest of all time will continue between fans and journalists alike, on the Internet, in pubs and at racetracks around the world, revealing the genuine passion we all have for what is the greatest of all motorsports. Leave a reply Left to right: Masahiko Nakajima President of Yamaha Motor Racing, Phil Read and Marco Riva General Manager of Yamaha Motor Racing. Saturday the 13th of September represented a significant milestone for Yamaha Factory Racing.

Exactly fifty years had passed since the Iwata based company attained its first world championship with the two-stroke 250cc RD56 when English motorcycle legend Phil Read won the Nations Grand Prix at Monza. Read was on hand at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to present Masahiko Nakajima (President of Yamaha Motor Racing) and Marco Riva (General Manager of Yamaha Motor Racing) with his original 1964 F.I.M. World Championship certificate. The certificate will now take pride of place at Yamaha’s Hall Of Fame in Japan. A copy of the certificate has been made that will be signed by all those present to mark the occasion and in return will be presented to Read. Phil Read went on to win a total of eight world titles across four classes, 125GP, 250GP, 500GP and TTF1. His career is littered with impressive achievements, including eight IOM TT race wins, 121 Grand Prix podiums and four 250cc world titles which has only ever been equaled by Max Biaggi.

Alongside Mike Hailwood and fellow Yamaha icon Valentino Rossi, Phil is one of only three riders to have won road-racing world championships in three or more classes. Read receives the trophies and takes the 1964 250cc World Championship. Read was quoted as saying, “This special evening to celebrate my bringing Yamaha’s first world title to them after 50 years is like coming home to the happy team, the reception has been fantastic, it’s overwhelming for me to see I get this recognition. I’m lucky to be here after fifty years of racing! It’s also thrilling to be here in Misano with Jorge on pole and Valentino so close on the front row too. It’s a little different now, from 1964; I came to Monza with two factory 250 Yamaha RD56s in the back of my car with one English mechanic and a Japanese mechanic who came over for the race in Monza. I think we had our carburettor settings written on a postcard!

I still feel as much part of the Yamaha family today as I did then, and feel privileged to have started a run of world championship success that has continued to this day.” Marco Riva, Yamaha Motor Racing, General Manager responded, “Our success with the RD56 wrote a page in motorcycle history. It was very competitive for many years and is still in my opinion the best race bike. Our aim has always been to have the rider at the centre of our racing project, Phil and other Yamaha icons such as Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are all still the most important factor. We are the only manufacturer that raced from the beginning of the world championship to now, we’ve never stopped and this is something very special. We are honoured to have Phil here with us to celebrate this anniversary. He is an icon in motorcycle racing, fourth in the all-time world rankings with eight world titles. We hold riders such as Phil in a special place in our hearts over these years for allowing us to win these titles together.” Yamaha followed Japanese rivals Honda and Suzuki into the World Championship Motorcycle Road Racing Grands Prix in 1961. Since the inception of the F.I.M.

World Championship Grands Prix in 1949, Yamaha has won 38 manufacturers titles and 37 riders titles that cover 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and MotoGp. Words Geoff Dawes © 2014. Images courtesy Movistar Yamaha Factory Racing. Leave a reply When American Kenny Roberts invaded the European Grands Prix in 1978, the two times AMA Grand National Champion left an indelible mark on the World Championship. Not only did Roberts become the first American to win a 500cc world title (the first of three), he also brought to Europe an American dirt track style of racing that would change the face of the sport forever. Not only that, Roberts was also instrumental in improving paddock conditions, safety and appearance money after ruffling the FIM and establishment’s feathers by proposing a breakaway “World Series” to compete with the Grands Prix. The quiet achiever Steve Baker. It’s therefore somewhat understandable that when the question of who was the first American to win a 500cc Grand Prix, it’s assumed it was Kenny.

In fact it was a fellow Californian, Pat Hennen. Hennen started racing in the 500cc World Championship in 1976 for Suzuki GB, and won his and America’s first 500cc Grand Prix in Finland that year. He also finished a creditable third in the Championship. Hennen performed the same feat the following year, this time winning British Grand Prix and placing third again in the Championship. In 1978 Hennen won in Spain but suffered a severe race crash at the Isle of Man TT, which ended his career. So who was the first American to win an FIM road racing World Championship? Ditto, again it’s assumed to be Roberts. It was, however, a diminutive, unassuming, and quietly spoken character by the name of Steve Baker. Born on the 5th of September 1952 in Bellingham, Washington State, Baker, like so many of the American World Champions that followed, started out a dirt tracker. At age 11 he would spend hours riding the many dirt trails around his hometown and at 16 began to race on short track and the TT dirt tracks of the Pacific Northwest.

By the early 1970’s Steve had become one of the top-ranked novices, and junior TT riders in America. Baker was by now racing in events up and down the west coast of the United States and Canada. Baker at work on Yamaha Canada TZ750. Steve then turned his hand to road racing, mainly in Canada, competing in as many as five classes during a typical weekend. It wasn’t long before Baker had a hat trick of Canadian road racing titles to his name in the 500cc expert class, taking the number one plate in 1974, 1975 and 1976. 1976 was a good year for Baker who also took out the 250cc and unlimited expert class as well. Baker had begun racing professionally in 1973 with sponsorship from Yamaha Canada’s Trevor Deeley, with Bob Work as his tuner. Baker’s debut in his first AMA national was at the 1973 Daytona 200 in which he finished 28th.

It was not until September that year that Baker showed his true potential with a creditable 2nd place to former 250cc World Champion Kel Carruthers at Talladega in Alabama. Unfortunately it was at the same circuit the following year that Baker crashed and broke his leg, leaving him sidelined for the rest of the year. Bakers comeback ride was at Daytona in 1975 and it netted him a commendable 2nd place to Gene Romero. But it was in 1976 that Baker’s star really shone. Now one of only five riders to receive a “works” OW31 TZ750 Yamaha, it proved to be an awe-inspiring combination. Baker qualified 2nd to Kenny Roberts at the season opening Daytona 200, but during the race suffered mechanical problems after holding down third place. Disappointment turned to success at the next two FIM Formula 750 Prize events in Venezuela and at Imola in Italy with Baker winning both of the 200 mile races. Baker on the grid at Imola alongside future factory teammate Johnny Cecotto.

On the home front he recorded his first AMA national victory at the Loudon Classic in June and backed it up with a win in the 250cc race. Baker repeated this at Laguna Seca again winning both the national and 250cc race. 1976 was also Baker’s debut in the Trans-Atlantic Match Races, a series that pitted a team of America’s best riders against seasoned English racers on circuits in the UK. Baker won four of the six races finishing second and fourth in the other two and was top points scorer of the series. This was against riders of the calibre of Kenny Roberts, Barry Sheene and former world champion Phil Read. Baker followed this up later that year with a win in the prestigious Race of the Year at Mallory Park beating the likes of 500cc World Champion Barry Sheene and multiple World Champion Giacomo Agostini amongst others. For 1977 the FIM Formula 750 Prize had been granted full World Championship status with the season starting Daytona 200 as the opening round.

Baker by now had been drafted into the official Yamaha factory squad to contest not only the new 750cc World Championship, but the 500cc World Championship as well alongside Johnny Ceccotto while Giacomo Agostini was provided with “works” machinery through the Italian Yamaha importer. Baker leads Roberts both on the OW31. Finally everything seemed to come together for Baker at Daytona, qualifying on pole position and winning the race. Baker also clinched the double by winning the International Lightweight 250cc race. The F750 World Championship consisted of eleven rounds most of which (unlike the Grands Prix) consisted of two heats. Six of the circuits Baker had raced on before and with the mighty OW31 at his disposal he was able to win five of the rounds, coming second in three and third in two. Baker never finished off the podium in the 10 rounds he contested. His nearest rival Frenchman Christian Sarron was 76 points behind. America, at last, had its first FIM road racing World Champion. Diminutive Baker manhandles the OW31 through the infield.

But it was the 500cc World Championship that Yamaha was most eager to capture. The Japanese company had first entered the blue riband 500cc class in 1973 with 1972 250cc World Champion Jarno Saarinen. Unfortunately Saarinen was killed in the 250cc race at Monza while leading the point’s table in the 500cc class. Yamaha withdrew for the rest of the season but returned in 1974 with the great Giacomo Agostini. Agostini went on to win the title for Yamaha in 1975 giving them and Japan their first 500cc World Championship. But in 1976 rival Japanese manufacturer Suzuki with the talented Barry Sheene had taken the title away. Yamaha were required to save face. In 1977 the 500cc GP’s were also contested over eleven rounds, but many of the circuits were new to Baker. Steve was reported to have said in a recent interview that he was “overwhelmed by Europe” when contesting the championship.

Not only were there new circuits to learn there was also the question of racing in the rain, something that did not occur in the United States. On top of that there was the culture shock of living outside of the states. Then of course there were the street circuits, which were part of the Grand Prix calendar. Spa in Belguim, Imatra in Finland, Brno in Czechoslovakia and Opitijia in Yugoslavia all could prove deadly and finding the right place to make up time or take calculated risks could only come from experience. Let’s not forget that 1977 saw the British Grand Prix on the mainland for the first time (at Silverstone) after the top riders of the day vetoed that most deadly of all road courses, the Isle of Man TT. Even the closed circuits at that time could not be considered “safe” by today’s standards and fatalities regularly took place. Yamaha 50th anniversary wallpaper of Formula 750 World Champion Steve Baker.

It was with this backdrop that Baker contested the championship, taking on seasoned campaigners like World Champion Sheene and a flotilla of “works” or factory supported RG500 Suzuki’s, not to mention his own teammate Ceccotto and Agostini on the other factory Yamaha YZR500 0W35’s. At the end of a tough season, Baker finished in a creditable second place to World Champion Barry Sheene. He had scored second place three times, third place three times, fourth once and fifth once. The second round of the 500cc Championship had been boycotted in Austria at the Salzburgring after an accident in the 350cc race that saw one rider killed and several others badly injured, including Baker’s teammate Johnny Ceccoto, who broke his arm. In the other two races that made up the series in Finland and Czechoslovakia Baker suffered mechanical problems which blunted his final points tally, 80 to Sheene’s 107. Always fast. With such a performance in his rookie year, a factory contract for 1978 might have been expected.

The only thing that Baker hadn’t achieved was winning a 500cc Grand Prix. Unfortunately Yamaha top brass witnessed a domestic bust up between Baker and his fiancé Bonnie with his sister and Bob Work at the Dutch TT in Assen. This seemed to seal Steve’s fate and a contract was not forthcoming. The Gallina team signed Baker for the following season on a private Suzuki RG500, but against the factory machinery he could only achieve seventh in the championship, his best result a third place podium in Venezuela. Baker also competed in the F750 World Championship for the Gallina team on a production Yamaha TZ750E although he was “allowed” to ride Yamaha Canada’s factory OW31 in North America. Daytona was no longer part of the F750 World Championship in 1978, although it was still the most important road race in America. Baker suffered a DNF through mechanical failure while in second place chasing Kenny Roberts. The season turned out to be one of mechanical failures and risky strategy for Baker, desperate to try and compete with the “works” machines.

To cap of a disastrous season, at the last round at Mosport in Canada, Baker was involved in another riders fatal practice crash. Baker escaped with a badly broken arm and leg. Steve finished sixth in the Championship with his best results being two second places at Imola and Laguna Seca and a third place at Paul Ricard. The following season, in 1979, Baker was set to race in the MCN/Superbike championship in the UK riding a Yamaha TZ750F for Sid Griffiths. At the second round of the series, at Brands Hatch, Baker crashed entering Paddock Hill bend and sustained similar injuries to his Mosport crash of the previous year. Bakers privateer Gallina TZ750E. Steve Baker left the sport without having the chance to fully fulfill his enormous potential and returned home to open a Yamaha dealership in his hometown of Bellingham, which he runs to this day. Often overlooked as America’s first World Champion, Baker holds no grudges, and there is no bitterness, only a modest gratitude to have been able to enjoy the experience.

In recent years Baker has ridden for the Yamaha Classic Racing Team at numerous classic events around Europe, jogging peoples memories while attracting new fans, and reminding us all of the very special the talent that is, Steve Baker. Leave a reply It was not that long ago that the very thought of MotoGp without Valentino Rossi was almost heresy. Although Rossi’s eventual retirement was an inevitable reality, there was some consternation about the future popularity of the sport and its existence as a saleable commodity without him. Rossi’s ability to engage such a wide demographic of fans, from children to retiree’s has given Grand Prix motorcycle racing the kind of exposure that other forms of motorsport would dearly love to have had. His post race antics, charm and humility, coupled to an amazing ability to push a Grand Prix racing motorcycle to the very limit, using racecraft so ruthless it enabled him to regularly outwit his many opponents is legendary. Rossi on his 2001 Championship winning NSR500 two-stroke. Rossi is arguably the greatest rider of all time, having won a record 80 MotoGp’s compared to the 68 of the great Giacomo Agostini.

But next month, on February 16th Valentino will celebrate his 35th birthday, and after three years with only one win, Rossi has given himself six races before he decides whether he will continue in MotoGp in 2015. That sixth race will be his “home” Grand Prix at Mugello a race he has won a record seven times. The surprise sacking of longtime crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, at the 2013 season ending race in Valencia, sent shock waves through the paddock. As Burgess pointed out at a pre-race press conference “I’ve read many sports biographies and quite often the top sportsman in the latter part of his career will have a change of caddy or a change of coach and this is what we’re working on. We worked on fixing the problem for four years and this is part of that fix and this is the next step to try and get Valentino back on top.” But is there more to Valentino’s lack of form since his last championship in 2009? Valentino on the 990cc RC211V Honda 5 cylinder four-stroke.

Burgess has also mentioned the “survival gene” that kicks in when a rider reaches their thirties and can erode a competitor’s ability to push to the absolute limits on a Grand Prix motorcycle. Micheal Scott, a longtime Grand Prix journalist and the editor of the authoritative annual Motocourse, had previously noted in his column, that during his long career Rossi had always possessed that bit of luck which saved him from serious injury when involved in a practice or race crash. That was not the case however in 2010. Rossi suffered a pre-season Motocross accident that badly affected his right shoulder and was not rectified until after the season had finished. But more tellingly a practice crash at Mugello, a circuit that Rossi had so much success on, bit back, giving the Italian a broken leg and for the first a time in his career caused him to miss not just one race, but three. Was the magic waning? Rossi after winning the 2010 Malaysian GP aboard his beloved 800cc four-stroke Yamaha YZR-M1.

Dealing with a recalcitrant Ducati in 2011 and 2012 did little to admonish the growing number of doubters that believed Rossi’s star was on the decline. Perhaps more tragically though was the effect that Valentino’s innocent involvement in Marco Simoncelli’s fatal accident in Malaysia may have had. I for one cannot comprehend how difficult it must have been for Valentino to deal with. The most reassuring thing about Rossi though is his love of racing and commitment to the sport. As the owner of a new Team Sky- VR46 Moto3 team, which he formed in a bid to help cultivate young Italian talent for the Grand Prix, there is no doubt that Rossi’s presence and star quality will thankfully be around the paddock for many years to come. 2 Replies Before the start of the 1973 500cc Grand Prix season the all-conquering MV Agusta team held a crushing stranglehold on the premier class. The monopoly had lasted for 17 year, winning the championship 16 times, the last seven in the hands of the great Giacomo Agostini.

Even the might of the Honda factory with the talents of Mike Hailwood had failed to take the title away. Newcombe in full flight at the Dutch T.T. at Assen. In 1973 it was Yamaha who decided to take up the challenge and try to become the first Japanese factory to win the blue riband class. Yamaha’s line up was a formidable one utilising the talents of their 250cc world champion, rising Finnish star Jarno Saarinen, aboard the factory’s latest weapon; an across the frame 500cc four-cylinder two-stroke. His team-mate was respected Japanese test rider, Hideo Kanaya. The Italians though, proved they were not about to rest on their laurels by hurriedly building a new four-stroke 500 based on their compact 350 four. Three times 250cc World Champion, Englishman Phil Read, was drafted into the team to ride it alongside Ago on his tried and proven triple. But incredibly it became an unknown New Zealander, riding a home built special with an engine from a marine outboard motor, that was to be MV Agusta’s greatest threat.

Kim Newcombe was born in Nelson on New Zealand’s South Island, but was brought up in Auckland where he served an apprenticeship as a motorcycle mechanic. Like many great riders of the modern Grand Prix era, Kim’s early racing career was on dirt tracks. His passion in particular was motorcycle scrambling (Motocross)), even riding his Greeves scrambler to meetings when a lift wasn’t available. Phil Read leads Newcombe at the 1973 Czehoslavakian Grand Prix. In May 1962 he was rewarded with a second place in the New Zealand Scramble Championship, which he followed up later that year with another second place in the North Island 250cc Championship. After such encouraging results, Kim and his wife Janeen, decided to sell the Greeves and move to Australia in 1963 for what would become a five-year stay. Newcombe initially spent time in Brisbane where he raced in both scrambles and speedway.

Kim and Janeen then moved to Melbourne, and after putting in some good rides on a home-built special (an outdated Greeves with a BSA gearbox), he received sponsorship from Bob Beanam of Modak Motorcycles in the form of a 400cc Maico. Beanam also sponsored another rider by the name of Rod Tingate, and it was this pair that debuted the first Maico moto-cross bikes in Australia. However, Newcombe first came across the remarkable German Konig outboard motor while he was working for Bob Jackson Marine in Melbourne. The Konig proved to be almost unbeatable in its class of hydroplane racing, and in 1965 Kim won two Victorian Outboard Championships using the impressive two-stroke engine. In effect it was these two West German products that would have such a profound influence on Newcombe’s future. Kim and the Konig lead Read on the MV Agusta at the Swedish Grand Prix in 1973. Having succumbed to the lure of racing Moto-cross in Europe, Kim arranged a job as a mechanic with Maico’s experimental department in Germany.

But the position was not available until March 1969, and as Newcombe and his wife were to arrive in Europe some eight months earlier something else had to be found. A phone call to Dieter Konig in Berlin secured Kim a job in the Konig factories experimental department, and it was here that the idea of putting the 500cc flat-four two-stroke engine into a motorcycle racing chassis jelled. Kim found that Dieter Konig was convinced his two-stroke engines could be as successful in Grand Prix motorcycle racing as they were in hydroplane racing and Newcombe was given the resources and encouraged to develop a Grand Prix racer. But it was a German rider named Wolf Braun who had initially showed an interest in racing a Konig, fitting the outboard motor, mated to a Norton gearbox and clutch, in a modified BSA chassis and then giving the hybrid machine it’s first race. But minor injuries and a lack of funds prevented Braun from continuing development of the Konig and the complete bike was left at the factory. Although Kim was keen to prove his ideas about making the Konig into a competitive Grand Prix racer he had not really considered racing it himself.

But towards the end of 1969 Kim decided to race the Konig. In September, after obtaining a West German national racing licence, Newcombe entered his first road race at the Avus autobahn circuit near Berlin and won! The following season saw a completely new chassis – and Aussie Grand Prix rider John Dodds on the bike. Again it was relatively short lived; as a privateer Dodds could not afford to help develop and race a completely new machine. Newcombe would again have to ride the Konig himself. Kim on the Konig at the Dutch T.T. at Assen 1973. Kim had qualified for an international racing licence for the 1972 season after winning five junior races the previous year. His first international race was at Mettet in Belgium, but it was his performance in the selected Grands Prix which followed that showed Kim and the Konig’s true potential, their best results coming from two third places at the East and West German Grand?s Prix. The mongrel motorcycle was proving very competitive, with enough power to pass Pagani’s MV on the straights.

Before the ’73 Grand Prix season had started Kim suffered several broken vertebrae in his neck due to a race crash at Hongelo in Holland. This called for a trip to London to see a Harley Street specialist and Newcombe used the opportunity to attend the annual motorcycle show. The main purpose of this was to visit Colin Seeley with reference to making a batch of frames for Konig which Kim had designed himself. By chance he ran into his old friend and former team-mate from Australia, Rod Tingate, who was working for Seeley. Tingate was on the verge of leaving Seeley to have a shot at racing in the European Grands Prix. Rod became an integral part of Newcombe’s team, racing his Yamaha TR3 when he could get a start, but mainly helping to maintain and develop the Konig. The first race of the season was the French GP at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France. The new Yamaha 500 in the hands of Jarno Saarinen dominated the event, easily beating home Phil Read on his MV, with Kanaya’s Yamaha coming in third.

Considering Newcombe was developing a new machine, learning a new circuit and progressing as a rider, fifth place in the race was creditable performance. Agostini however, had fallen while trying to stay with Saarinen. Yamaha took a one-two win in the freezing rain at the next round, the Austrian GP in Salzburg. Again Saarinen dominated, taking the win, while both Ago and Read failed to finish, leaving Kim to pick up a fine third place some 30 seconds in arrears. On the Podium with Agostini (2) Read (1) and Kim (3) at Swedish G.P. at Anderstorp. In the heat at the West German GP at Hockenhiem, Saarinen broke the lap record, but unfortunately also his chain. Agostini’s MV again failed leaving Read to take the win. It was a difficult race for Kim who in front of his “home crowd” had mechanical problems and did not finish. The next race was at Monza in Italy. It was a Grand Prix meeting that became one of the darkest days in motorcycle sport.

During the 350 race Walter Villa’s Benelli had broken an oil line, dumping engine oil onto the exhaust system and track. The Benelli was not black flagged by the organisers, but Villa came into the pits on the second to last lap on his own initiative, only to be sent out again by his mechanics so he could claim fifth spot in the race. The 250 race was started without an oil warning and there were no oil flags being shown around the track by the organiser’s to indicate the danger. As the leading bunch hurtled at 210kph into the first corner, the Curva Grande, Renzo Pasolini’s bike went down taking Saarinen with him and sending Kanaya into the hay bales. The group that was closely following smashed into the debris bringing down another twelve riders. Fire broke out among the hay bales and wrecked bikes causing smoke to obscure the accident. There was also no sign of any flag marshals to warn the riders who were on their second lap. John Dodds somehow managed to avoid the carnage, and began running down the track waving his arms to warn the other riders.

Dieter Braun was leading the race and it was only the sight of Dodds that saved him from entering the smoke at around 233kph. Sadly both Pasolini and Saarinen were killed. The 500 race was cancelled, and as a mark of respect Yamaha withdrew for the rest of the season. With the TT at the Isle of Man being boycotted by all of the top GP riders for safety reasons, the next race was the Yugoslavian Grand Prix on the dangerous street circuit at the Adriatic seaside resort of Opatija. The question of track safety again came into play when MV Agusta decided to boycott this race meeting as well. Newcombe made the most of the situation by winning the event in fine style, coming home over a minute ahead of second place man Steve Ellis and taking the lead in the Championship by four points. Kim at work in 1973. The Grand Prix circus then moved on for the Dutch TT at Circuit van Drenthe Assen. Kim was now beginning to experience the pressure of leading the championship in his first full season of GP racing.

This showed in practise, causing an uncharacteristic crash on the technically difficult Dutch circuit, and a long night for Kim and Rod to repair the Konig. But on race day, in front of the massive crowd, Kim managed to recover from a poor start and claw his way back through the field to come home in a fighting second place. Agostini, after setting the fastest lap for the race, was out once more with a faulty gear selector. Read again showed his class by taking first place and closing the gap to Newcombe to only one point. Next was Belgium and the Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, another fast road circuit. Agostini finally broke his duck by winning the race and setting an average lap speed of 206.8kmh, ahead of team-mate Read. Newcombe was holding a safe third place when his waterpump drive broke allowing expatriate Aussie Jack Findlay, on the improving TR500 Suzuki, past on the final lap. Newcombe was now three points in arrears as they travelled once more behind the Iron Curtain to the Brno circuit for the Czechoslovakian GP. Phil Read made a good start and led for half race distance with Ago in tow.

Kim was again in third but his engine was only firing on three cylinders. With only a few laps to go Bruno Kneubler caught up with him, and as they tussled out of the final corner the Konig cut in on all four cylinders spitting Newcombe off! Agostini, however, had managed to get the better of Read, and notched up his second successive win. Newcombe leads Read at the Swedish Grand Prix. Kim could see his chance at the Championship title slipping away as the Konig team moved on to Scandinavia and the Swedish GP at Anderstorp. If there had been any doubt about Newcombe’s riding ability this race proved his worth. Newcombe took the lead for the first ten laps by pushing the Konig to its limit, using extreme angles of lean through the corners to stay ahead, until he grounded the gear lever which knocked the Konig into neutral and almost sent him spearing off the track. Read was through in a flash to eventually beat Ago by half a second, with Kim in third place. The Finnish Grand Prix at Imatra was almost disastrous for Newcombe.

The bumpy tree-lined circuit was made worse by dirt and damp leaves on the track, causing several excursions up the escape roads with the Konig scrambling for traction in the turns and under brakes. At one point Kim fell as low as eighth, but managed to work his way up to fourth at the flag. Agostini had won again, with Read’s second place making him unbeatable in the championship. There was a break before the final Grand Prix of the season in Spain, the next major meeting being the August 12th “British Grand Prix” international meeting at Silverstone. Kim had ridden the Konig in England for the first time at Brands Hatch the week before, but poor weather had put a dampener on the meeting, and Kim had no intentions of extending himself while in England. Bad luck followed Newcombe to Silverstone as he was unable to race the preferred 500cc Konig when in practise it broke a big-end bearing cage. This left the Super Konig, a 680cc version of the bike for racing against the Formula 750 machines in the 1000cc class. The 680 was more difficult to ride being brutally powerful.

Kim on the 680cc Konig chases Peter Williams on the Norton F750 racer at Silverstone. All the big names were at Silverstone for the 1000cc event. Paul Smart (Kawasaki 750), Barry Sheene (Suzuki 750), Phil Read (MV), Agostini (MV), Gary Nixon (Kawasaki 750), Yvon Du Hamel (Kawasaki 750), Dave Croxford (Norton 750), and Peter Williams (Norton 750) amongst others. But for six laps Newcombe on a hybrid home-built racer proved embarrassingly fast for the factory racers. Smart gradually pegged back the Konig, and as they swept into Stowe corner Kim’s brakes appeared to fade, causing him to run wide and eventually crash. Newcombe and the Konig slid for a distance before smashing into an unprotected brick wall. Although his injuries appeared superficial, Kim had suffered severe head trauma similar to that of Suzuki’s Kevin Magee’s at Laguna Seca. Unfortunately the modern medical techniques that saved Kevin’s life were unavailable to Newcombe.

Three days later Kim succumbed to his injuries in a Northampton Hospital. As usual Newcombe had walked the circuit before practice began, and was involved in a four hour meeting with race organisers over concerns about safety. It’s ironic that the next day an identical accident occurred at the same corner, yet the rider was able to walk away, thanks to hay bales belatedly being placed there. Posthumously second in the 1973 500cc World Championship, Kim Newcombe’s achievement should not be overlooked. Taking on the might of the unbeatable MV Agusta team with what amounted to a home-built special on a shoestring budget, and in his first full season of Grand Prix racing, deserves much more than that. Konig Technical File The success of the Konig flat-four two-stroke boxer engine design is quite unique in the history of the 500cc Grand Prix class. Similar layouts were tried later in the mid seventies, however, Helmet Fath’s more advanced two-stroke design was never as successful in the Grands Prix, and MV Augusta’s boxer four-stroke was never raced. Kim and the Konig in the paddock at the Swedish Grand Prix.

Note the Norton gearbox casing and the belt drive to the water pump and rotary disc valve. The water-cooled unit sat transversely across the frame with two cylinders pointing forward and the other two rear ward. The two right hand cylinders fired together while the left hand pair repeated the process 180 degrees later. Basically like two flat-twins sharing a common crankcase and a single crankshaft. The crankcase itself was split into two separate pumping changers for each pair of opposed cylinders – a necessity for two-stroke breathing. This enabled the use of a single large rotary disc valve on top of the crankcase for inlet timing, with a single inlet port for each pair of opposed cylinders. The disc valve was driven by a toothed belt from the timing end of the crankshaft, and appeared somewhat fragile, as it had to run through rollers and make a ninety degree turn. Even the expansion chambers were shared – originally an agricultural looking single “canister” chamber with the front and rear pairs of cylinders siamesed into it. This was later replaced with two conventional looking expansion chambers – one for each pair of front and rear cylinders.

Carburation varied from two East German BVF carburetors, to a twin-choke 38mm downdraught Solex, and finally a pair of American 42mm Tillotsons. The engine ran on petroil at an old fashioned 16:1, although this was later changed to 20:1 using a vegetable oil. All the internal components were qualify West German products, with the crankshaft being a pressed up five piece affair made by Hoeckle. It rested on three main bearings – utilizing a double ball on the timing end and two separate ball races on the primary side, with split-type caged rollers for the middle main bearing. Caged roller bearings were also used for the connecting rod’s big-end, while the little-end used crowded needle rollers and shims on the piston pin to centralize the conrod. The pistons themselves were forged high silicone Mahle items with a single chromed ring. Bore and stroke was a classic ‘stroker 54x54mm although this was said to have changed during development to 50x56mm.

The ignition system was provided by a conventional battery, twin coil and dual points set-up, run off the right-hand end of the crank. The main weaknesses with adapting a design originally intended for power boating was the lack of an in-unit clutch/transmission and getting enough water through a cooling system that was built for a limitless supply of cold sea water. The clutch/gearbox problem was overcome by running a toothed Westinghouse chain off the left-hand side of the crankshaft (hence the reasoning to mount the engine across the frame), to a clutch and a Norton gearbox casing fitted with a Schaftleitner six-speed gear cluster. The cooling problem was never solved completely, and the engine did not like to get any hotter than 60 degrees. A cast-finned sump was fitted underneath the engine to act as a reservoir for five litres of coolant that passed through a large radiator. Newcombe experimented with slots in the fairing, which yielded some success, but just in case the Konig was never warmed up before a race so it could be taken to the starting line cold. Kim hard at work on the Konig at Spa in Belguim.

In it’s final 1973 form the Konig had a chassis designed by Kim that used Ceriani front forks and drum brakes with Girling rear shocks. By this time the engine was pumping out 85bhp at 9,800rpm (at the crankshaft) with the 680cc version giving 90bhp to 9,500rpm. With a weight of only 139kg the 500 was good for around 265kph! Konig made eight bikes in kit form (less wheels and front forks), and for about the same price as a TZ350 Yamaha a privateer could buy a potentially competitive 500cc or 680cc racer. With Kim’s demise though, interest with the solo racer diminished. The factory did however help Rolf Steinhausen and passenger Josef Huber in the sidecar championship, for which they were rewarded with a Konig engine winning both the 1975 and 1976 Sidecar World Championship. Words Geoff Dawes (C) 1991.

Photograph’s Mick Wollett, Jan Heese, Robyn’s Liege and Volker Rausch. Published 1993 Bike Australia, Classic Racer (UK) and Extra Editon Motorcyclist (Japan).

Question: Giacomo Agostini was seven times world champion between 1966 and 1972 in which sport?
Answer: Motorcycling